With more than 44,000 stores located in more than 100 countries, the Subway brand is the
world's largest submarine sandwich franchise and one of the fastest-growing franchises!
Subway's menu offers a range of items from submarine sandwiches and paninis to salads
and cookies. The sub sandwich chains menu varies between countries, so in some locations,
you can find some interesting submarine sandwich combinations. The chain is becoming steadily
more popular in none other than China! You can start to spot these stores almost as often
as the glowing golden arches. There are over 400 locations in China and it is estimated
there will be well over 600 stores in the near future. So here at the top 10 reasons
why China loves Subway.
They Love Trying Western Food
Subway restaurants have a difficult time competing with McDonald’s, KFC and Pizza Hut, but
in China they still have many fans. Subway is the latest American fast food among the
big three; hamburgers, pizza and sandwiches. For this reason, they may need some more time
to become better known by the Chinese market but they have started to make their mark and
are climbing to the top of the food chain! Many Chinese people are liking the food! It’s
very different from a traditional Chinese location, from the food to the environment
and seating arrangements, as well as table mannerism. Two decades ago, only five-star
hotels and the odd restaurant would offer good Western food in China. Now it has become
more widely available with more Western food restaurants in cities, and the Chinese people
are following the foreigners to try the food. Why are the Chinese so inclined to try Western
foods though? Well, it started with curiosity from the younger generations and then it also
comes down to the reasons why the Chinese choose Western brands and food chains: brand
reputation, exclusivity, and best seller items. On top of that, even though it's quite different
from their traditional food, they like it and restaurants like Subway adapt their menu
items to appeal to their taste buds too, with sandwiches and drinks unique to China.
Subway’s Cheap!
Considering it's the healthier version of the Western fast-food chain, it is cheap!
Chinese food can also be cheap depending on where you go and what type of Chinese food
you eat but it's just as comparable to the prices at Subway. There are sandwiches you
can choose for 18 RMB or even 22 RMB; in comparison to Chinese food, you can get a bowl of your
choice of noodles for anywhere from 16-20 RMB, about $2.50 US. In 2008, Subway began
to offer almost all foot-long submarine sandwiches for five dollars, excluding premium and double-meat
varieties. This was supposed to be a limited time only promotion in North America but quickly
became Subway's most successful promotion... ever! When the initial promotion was coming
to an end, the high volume of customer response for a permanent $5 footlong menu prompted
Subway to create one. This is when the "$5 Footlong Everyday Value Menu" became a regular
thing and of course, the $5 footlongs are available in China as well! Only instead of
$5 its 25 RMB! Other promotions at Subway include their $3.50 6-inch selection for the
Sub of the Day sub sandwiches, for a low price equivalent of 15 RMB.
Hot Sub Sandwich at Chinese Subways
A sandwich is known as Western cold food. Chinese people are not accustomed to cold
food especially because this goes against Chinese traditional love of hot food. Naturally,
Subway needed to adapt to this and created a few "hot" sandwich options for this market
with a selection for their taste buds and love of spicy food! They introduced the Hot
and Spicy Flavored Thick Cut Steak Sandwich and the Black Pepper Thick Cut Steak Sandwich.
Two things Chinese people love about their traditional food are that it can be spicy
and served hot; both of these steak sandwiches have a nice kick to them and are heated up.
Additionally, in Beijing, they also introduced on the menu a Roasted Duck Sub, it was created
especially for the Chinese market by combining Chinese and American tastes. These hot new
subs in Chinese Subways maintain the same classic American Subway style but instead
are made with popular ingredients like the roasted duck and served hot to be more appealing,
not to mention tasty! Michael Johnsen, Subway Development Agent for Shanghai, commented
on these subs saying "This combination is perfect not only for making sandwiches more
accessible to people who are hesitant to try Western style cold cuts but also for fusion
aficionados looking for new culinary twists".
Subway is Quick and Convenient
China is a country with a history of certain rituals and etiquette when it comes to dining
and their food. Eating is highly important in China’s culture and many Chinese food
chains or restaurants are usually set up in a way where customers come to sit down to
dine banquet style with a very noisy environment. It is uncommon for Chinese restaurants to
have a grab and go option with small lineups, a quiet atmosphere and available seats. For
some Chinese people especially the Generation 2 population, they like to get something to
eat that is quick and convenient. With Subway they can come in, build a sandwich of their
choice and choose to sit down and eat or take it to go. Food insiders have mentioned that
cities like Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen are full of young and busy professionals who
want to live healthily but have little time to think about preparing meals. This is where
the Subway chain becomes one of their choices for food because they provide convenient,
fast and healthier options.
Subway is a "Healthier" Alternative
Chinese food tends to be quite oily, carb-heavy and doesn't focus on having many vegetables
included. For some time in China, the expat community in the city was starved of good
Western food. So once Subway chains started to pop up all over popular cities, the expats
started creating business for them and the Chinese followed for this healthier alternative
and to fill up on some fresh veggies, like the slogan says to "Eat Fresh". It is an ideal
place to pick up a reasonably healthy and quick lunch or dinner. With the variety of
vegetable options like soups and salads on the menu, it’s viewed as a healthier Western
food chain. Subway gets a good name in Chinese: phonetically, it still sounds pretty close
to ‘subway’, but the chinese characters can be translated to mean something like “better
taste than any other food”. Perhaps, Subway can focus on advertising healthy Western food
more so than chains like KFC or McDonald's because people are taking it more seriously.
Another thing Subway did back in 2011 to be more "healthified" is they cut the salt content
in their sandwiches by 15 percent.
You Can Customize Subway
For most people in China it may feel a little bit unnatural to have so many independent
choices when it comes to their food. Usually, with typical Chinese food, you order it one
way, it is what it is and there isn't a variety of ways to dress it, have it cooked, etc.
So, it can become strange when they have different bread, vegetables, meat and salad dressing
choices to choose from for their sandwiches. Subway offers something new for the Chinese
in this respect where they can make their own sub, which is not only a new experience
but nice when you're picky, want to change things up or choose items according to your
cravings. Subway also gives you the option to toast your sandwich so it is served to
you nice and warm, a feature many Chinese residents like! Subway offers many different
toppings you can add to your submarine sandwiches like olives, pickles and jalapenos. Subway
has a great menu that allows you to get creative by choosing between your favourite type of
bread, meats, cheese, veggies, condiments and dressings. They also have the option to
choose any sub sandwich and to have it made into a salad! Other than having choices, you
can also choose the standard recipe option for each of the menu items as well with their
recommended condiments or dressings.
Sub of The Day Special
The Subway "Sub of the Day" is one of the most well known fast food promotions of all
time. As we mentioned in China they also offer "$5 Footlong Everyday Value Menu" which is a neat
feature for Chinese people. Not only that but there is also the 6 inch for $3.50 option
as well. Not only is it cheap and convenient but gives them the option to try different
subs for a value on different days of the week. Again, this is an uncommon feature for
them as it is not something you would see at Chinese food chains or restaurants. The
sub of the day promotion varies with the sandwich options for each day of the week by international
locations, they choose them based on local and cultural favourites. This can be appealing
for the Chinese people especially when their favourites are the special on certain days
of the week!
You Can See the Food Being Prepared
As you might have heard, Chinese people have a hard time trusting their food with so many
scandals like fake eggs or fake lettuce and tomatoes. So, not only is it is unique for
them to be able to see the food they are going to eat through a glass display being prepared
for them but also they have a tendency to trust Western brands. The fact that they can
see the fresh food items like the bread and vegetables and see it being assembled, for
them is kind of a big deal. Generally, most restaurants take the order and make the food
in the kitchen where the customers do not see the food until the finished product comes
out to them. Being able to see the food, it is easy to tell if it is fresh or not and
you can also smell the freshly baked bread and cookies which adds to the trust the Chinese
people put in Subway.
You Can Get Cookies With Subway Meal
The Subway company also offers cookies! Now they may not be fortune cookies, traditionally
known Chinese cookies, but make no mistake they are cookie monsters just like the rest
of us. As advertised, they are 'baked fresh daily" and are a popular part of Subway's
meal combos. The Chinese do love their dessert options anywhere from Chinese mooncakes to
Western cookies. The Subway cookies come in a variety of options and taste so good. The
taste, texture and size of cookies are much different from a fortune cookie and also don't
tell your fortune but they are appealing because of the many reasons we’ve mentioned, they
are "Western", cheap and delicious. Subway’s also offering fun cookie flavors for Chinese
New Year, pineapple cookies!
Subway Tastes Good!
Since it's made fresh and served with fresh vegetables, freshly baked bread and prepared
fresh meats, it tastes good. It definitely tastes much better than food from a fast food
chain that serves food that is frozen in bulk and then cooked to eat! Many can agree that
Subway will taste better for these reasons and the Chinese can appreciate this as well.
Subway has a sandwich for everyone! They appeal to the Chinese people because they keep introducing
more and more Chinese tastes to switch is up from the standard American cold cuts they
aren't too keen on. Starting in January 2019 for Chinese New Year they also introduced
a few new sub specials. They are being offered until February 28th as the 2 "egg-bundance",
otherwise known as the Golden Egg Campaign, sub-options. The egg-bundance promotion is
Subway’s spicy Italian sub or the chicken strips sub served with a heaping spoonful
of their creamy egg mayo topping and if you didn't know they love their eggs in China
(from quail to chicken eggs). It sounds good, looks good and probably tastes egg-cellent! The Egg
Mayo & Spicy Italian comes with slices of pepperoni and salami, fresh vegetables, any
choice of sauce and the egg mayo concoction. You can, of course, modify this with your
choice of vegetable toppings as well and add melting cheese. The other egg abundant sub
experience they are offering is the Egg Mayo & Chicken Strips sub. This sub sandwich
comes with chicken strips, veggies, sauce of your choosing and again the egg mayo! We
are sure Subway will have lineups of egg-cited expats and Chinese people for this 2019 Chinese
New Year!
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